Enclosed golf course



July 14, 1959 w. ROOK ENCLOSED com COURSE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 22, 1955 Law's W 900/! INVENTOR MMflM Q I is W Rook INVENTOR.

9 M Lou L. W. ROOK ENCLOSED GOLF COURSE July 14, 1959 2,894,749

Fild July 22 1955 v 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 F i F I F I BY m Wmm July 14, 1959 w. ROOK ENCLOSED GOLF COURSE 3 Sheets-Sheet Filed July 22, 1955 Louis M. Hook 7 IN V EN TOR.

United? States Patent ENCLOSED GOLF COURSE Louis W. Rook, Carrizo Springs, Tex.

Application July 22, 1955, Serial No. 523,786

2 Claims. (Cl. 273-176) This invention generally relates to a golf course, and more specifically provides an improved and novel construction in an enclosed golf course to facilitate the playing of golf at any time during the year, regardless of the outside weather conditions, thereby permitting players to engage in a game of golf during rain or other inclement weather.

Although golf tournaments sometimes are played during rain, golf players usually do not desire to become wet when playing a game of golf due to the personal discomforts caused thereby. Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a golf course which is completely enclosed and which closely simulates the actual conditions encountered on an outdoor golf course for providing a highly interesting and competitive type of golf course.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a golf course including in its construction a plurality of building sections arranged in side-by-side relation with each building section including an elongated fairway with a teeing off area, a fairway, a green with the cup therein and baffle curtains extending inwardly along the fairway for providing a natural obstacle to the path of flight of the golf ball and to simulate the conditions normally found on a golf course.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a golf course in accordance with the preceding objects in which each of the fairways is provided with an entrance and exit door arranged and controlled so that a first party of golfers must leave the fairway before the next succeeding party of golfers can enter the fairway, thereby assuring that only one group of golfers is in each fairway at one time, thereby assuring a completely safe enclosed golf course, and permitting the golfers to concentrate without interruption from others.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a golf course having a centrally disposed club room area together with suitable access tunnels and runways to permit entrance and exit therefrom.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an enclosed golf course having a control panel for indicating the progress of the golfers through the golf course together with a viewing device to permit the operator of the golf course to determine the progress of play by the individual players.

Other important objects of the present invention will reside in its simplicity of construction, efliciency of layout and operation, close similarity to an outdoor golf course, convenience, adaptation for its particular purposes and its relatively inexpensive construction and maintenance costs.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the enclosed golf 1 a simulated turfor. gl s 38. having a teeing-ofi area 40? course of the present invention illustrating the elongated relatively low building section construction;

Figure 2 is a top plan view of the enclosed golf course of the present invention with portions of the building sections being broken away illustrating the construction and relationships of the adjacent fairways together with the passageways between the fairways and the club room area;

Figure 3 is a transverse, sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 3--3 of Figure 2 illustrating further structural details and arrangements of the golf course and illustrating the passageways from each of the building sections into the club room area;

Figure 4 is an enlarged transverse sectional view taken substantially upon a plane passing along section line 4-4 of Figure 2 illustrating the construction of each of the building sections and specifically illustrating the manner of arranging the baffle curtains about three sides of the fairway and the simulated turf on the floor of the building section;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail view illustrating the junction of one fairway with another together with the arrangement of the putting green and the tee together with the entrance and exit doorways; and

Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view of the arrangement of the doors together with the indicating lights on the control panel and in the building sections for indicating the progress of the golfers through the fairways.

With reference to the drawings, the numeral 10 generally designates the enclosed golf course of the present invention which is generally in the nature of an elongated relatively low building which may be situated on an area roughly equal to the area of three city blocks, thereby permitting the golf course 10 to be economically constructed in relatively congested areas.

The enclosed golf course 10 includes a plurality of sideby-side elongated building sections 12 including a generally oval-shaped roof 14 with vertical side walls 16 which are supported by vertical frame members 18 together with inclined roof braces 20 interconnected by gusset plates 22 at the juncture thereof, and the two uppermost inclined braces 20 are interconnected by a horizontal brace 24 thereby forming a roof truss for supporting the rounded roof 14 of the building sections 12. Thelower ends of the vertical frame members are supported in fittings or foundations preferably of concrete or similar material, as indicated by the numeral 26. Attached to the inner surface of the braces 18 and 20 is insulation material 28 which may also be of a sound deadening material, which is covered by any suitable sheet material 30. Depending and extending inwardly completely on the inner surface of the sheet material 30 about the two side walls and the top of the building section 12 is a baffie curtain generally indicated by the numeral 32 and including a pair of inclined sections 34 and an inwardly extending section 36 generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the building section 12. As clearly indicated in the broken away portions of Figure 2, the inner edges of the inwardly extending sections 36 of the bafile curtain 32 define an undulating inner surface along the building section 12 thereby providing obstructions in the path of the golf ball so that only excessive deviation of a golf ball from a true straight line path or from a predetermined path will cause the golf ball to hit one of the sections 36 on the baffle curtains 32 and cause the golf ball to drop before it reaches the other end of the building section 12. The bafile curtains 32 closely simulate the action and position of trees adjacent the fairway of an outdoor golf course.

The floor of the building section-12 is provided with 3 at one end thereof and a putting green 42 adjacent the other end thereof with a cup 44 therein. The turf 38 actually forms the fairway for passage of the golf ball and the sections 36 of the baffle curtain 32 extending at varying distances inwardly into the fairway area provide hazards to flight of the golf ball for simulating actual conditions encountered in an outdoor golf course so that the excessive deviation of the golf ball from an intended path will cause the ball to hit the curtains 32.

The building sections 12 are arranged in sideby-side relation, and each of the building sections 12 taper from a narrow width at the teeing-ofl? area 4% to a wider width at the putting green 42, and the teeing off area of one building section 12 is adjacent the putting green of the adjacent building section 12, thereby forming a compact arrangement of fairways in the building sections. An elongated walkway 46 having an access door 48 at one end thereof is disposed between each pair of adjacent sections with the doors 43 providing access into a club room area generally designated by the numeral 51) which may include locker rooms, rest rooms, lounges and a control room for providing for the comfort of the golfers and whereby they may proceed from any of the building sections 12 into the club room area 50 at any time during the progress of a game without walking a relatively long distance as occurs in an outdoor golf course.

In each of the areas or runways 46 between adjacent building sections 12 is provided a waiting room 52 having an access door 54 to the exterior of the building section and a door 56 leading from the waiting room 52 into the next adjacent building section at the end thereof having the teeing-off area 40. Also, a door 58 is provided leading in from the next preceding building section 12 adjacent the end thereof having the putting green 42 so that the person finishing the hole preceding may proceed into the waiting room 52 and wait until the golfers in the next building section 12 have completed the hole therein, after which the person waiting may leave the waiting room and go into the teeing-oif area 4t inasmuch as the egress of the golfers already in the next building section 12 controls a lock on the ingress door 56, thereby assuring that only one group of golfers will be in each building section 12 at a single time.

Any or all of the building sections 12 may also be provided with a door 69 on the other side of the putting green 42 from the door 58 to permit the players to go in either direction from the putting green. Also, the outermost fairways may be provided with exit doors 62 and 64 at either end or in the center thereof for permitting ingress and egress of the players in relation to the golf course it The various doors and fairways may be used as emergency exits, if necessary. Certain of the doors are so constructed that they permit free emergency exit from the fairways but are locked against entry to the fairways and may be opened only from the outside by keys retained by an attendant.

The progression of the golf players from one fairway to another is controlled by the exit door leading from the green 42 on a preceding fairway to the waiting room 52 before the next succeeding fairway. The door 58 is provided with the usual hinge 66 and a pair of projections 68. One of the projections 68 engages the throw lever 70 of a switch which moves between a terminal 72 and a terminal 74. The terminal 72 is connected to a light 76 and the terminal 74 is connected to a light 78 with the lights 76 and 78 being selectively connected with a power source 81; responsive to movement of lever 71). The light 75 may be red, and the light 78 may be green and both may be positioned on a control panel 77 in the control room area 50. The opening of the door 58 will engage lever 7t) with terminal 74 and turn off the red light 76 and will turn on the green light 78 for indicating to the person in the control room that the golfers in the particular fairway have passed through the doorway 53 and this particular fairway is now clear. The other of the projections 68 will engage a switch throw lever 82 for engaging the lever 82 with a terminal 84; connected to a light 36 through a power source 88. The light 86 is positioned over the door 56 leading from the waiting room 52 into the fairway that has just been vacated, so that the light 86 will indicate to persons waiting in the waiting room that the fairway has been cleared and that they may then enter. Also, the lever 82 may release an electrically operated lock 87 which locks the door from the waiting room to the fairway, and a push-button door operated switch may be provided for illuminating the fairway by illuminating floodlights. In connection with Figure 5, the door 58 when opened will indicate in the control room that the fairway at the upper portion of Figure 5 is clear and at the same time, the door 58 will operate the light signal 36 in the preceding waiting room, that is, the waiting room at the entrance to the fairway at the upper portion of Figure 5, and also actuate the lock for unlocking the door 56 in the preceding waiting room, thereby permitting and indicating to the players in the waiting room that they may proceed into the fairway at the upper end of Figure 5. Also, the players that have egressed from the fairway at the upper portion of Figure 5 into the waiting room 52 must then wait for the persons in the fairway at the lower end of Figure 5 to egress therefrom inasmuch as opening of the exit door 58 in the fairway at the lower end of Figure 5 will unlock the door 56 and also actuate the signal light 86 over the door 56 and also actuate the signal lights 78 and 76 in the control room. It will be understood that when the door 58 is again closed, the switch levers and 72 will be moved to the positions illustrated in Figure 6 for illuminating the red signal 76 in the control room and the signal light 86 in the waiting room, thereby indicating to other players and to the operators that the fairway is in use and the door 56 is locked. Of course, a master switch may be provided together with suitable controls to permit the operator to gain access to the fairways at any time for any purpose. Also, suitable viewing screens 92 may be provided in each end of each of the building sections for indicating to the operator at a control board whether any one is actually in each of the sections, and suitable air ducts 94 may be provided for heating or cooling the building sections 12 for retaining the golfers in a maximum degree of comfort.

The building sections 12 may be constwcted of galvanized corrugated metal or any other suitable material, and suitable illumination means may be provided in the entire device for permitting play of the game at any time regardless of the weather conditions. The usual facilities provided at a golf course may be instituted in the present invention, and a par may be set up for each hole inasmuch as the distance for each hole may be varied and the arrangement of the baffle curtain 32 may be varied.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described, and accordingly, all suitable modifications and equivalents may be resorted to, falling within the scope of the invention as claimed.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. An enclosed golf course comprising a plurality of elongated building sections arranged in side-by-side relation, a fairway in each building section, each fairway including a tee at one end and a green at the other end, a bafile curtain extending substantially throughout the entire length of each fairway, each of said curtains including a plurality of inwardly extending projections forming obstacles for a golf ball being driven from the tee towards the green when the ball deviates excessively from an intended path, the tees and greens being arranged alternately with the tee of a fairway disposed adjacent the green of an adjacent fairway, a waiting room interconnecting the tee and green of adjacent fairways, and indicating means in each waiting room actuated in response to egress of players from the succeeding fairway for indicating that the succeeding fairway is vacant.

2. A golf course comprising a plurality of fairways, a building section disposed in enclosing relation to each of the fairways for completely enclosing each fairway, each of said fairways including a green and a teeing area, said fairways being disposed in side by side relation with the green of one fairway being disposed adjacent the teeing area of an adjacent fairway, a waiting room disposed between each pair of adjacent fairways, an entrance door and an exit door in each waiting room, indicator means 15 6 actuated by opening movement of the entrance door of one waiting room automatically indicating exit of the players from the one fairway to a succeeding waiting room.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 610,336 White Sept. 6, 1898 1,600,600 Runchey et al Sept. 21, 1926 10 2,043,273 Watson June 9, 1936 2,550,480 Hubbard Apr. 24, 1951 2,678,823 Hugman May 18, 1954 OTHER REFERENCES Golf Illustrated, for March 1927; page 20 cited. 

